The invention relates to a system for receiving a user, that is in particular usable for being placed above, or integrated into mattresses, armchairs or sofas for furnishings or for motor vehicles, cushions, padded seats or backs, rucksacks, sporting equipment, pushchairs for children, seats for children (for example car seats or high chairs), motor-cycle seats, or to be integrated inside a shoe. In particular, the system in object is used to receive in a contact relationship a part of the body of an individual, such as, for example, the back or the sole, keeping the skin dry and removing therefrom the sweat and the humidity.
The prior art comprises breathable fabrics which, in use, in contact with the skin of a user, are able to maintain the skin dry.
For example, from international patent application WO 2006/013317 a breathable fabric for clothing is known comprising a layer of textile fibres that are permeable to water vapour and impermeable to liquids, in which absorbing means is positioned on at least one part of a side of the layer of fibres.
International patent application WO 2007/034204 shows a fabric with a side formed by hydrophobic fibres, for example, made of polyester or polypropylene, and the opposite side formed by a mixture of hydrophobic fibres and hydrophilic fibres, for example in cellulose fibres such as cotton or viscous rayon.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,735,145 shows a fabric comprising a first hydrophobic layer and a second hydrophilic layer that are fixed together and maintained spaced apart from one another by a series of yarns.
There are further known, for example from patent documents FR 2 700 252, CN 2912384, US 2008/0121674, WO 99/10198 and CN 2293481, mattresses, cushions or seats provided with channels that laterally convey the sweat and the humidity sucked by an external layer in contact with the skin of a user.
The prior art also comprises various materials and/or multilayered structures that are associable with clothing or objects with which the skin of a user comes into contact. These multilayered elements comprise a plurality of layers made of fabric, polymers or polymer foams. The layers can be permeable or impermeable to humidity and sweat. In particular it is known making at least one permeable layer, at least one impermeable layer and at least one layer (in general, polymeric) that absorbs and collects the humidity and/or the sweat, which are then conveyed outwards, where they are expelled, for example by evaporation. These multilayered elements have the object of drying, and thus making more comfortable, the surface in direct contact with the skin of the user owing to the elimination and removal of humidity and/or sweat generated by the skin.
These multilayered elements are shown, for example, by the United Kingdom patent publication GB 2 439 532, which discloses a sheet material for absorbing water, comprising a first layer of microbrushed polyester and a second layer of a fabric that absorbs water (felt). The sheet may further comprise a third permeable layer, for example of polyester and cotton.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,775,575 shows a layered fabric in which the humidity of the body is absorbed by a lower layer and is then transferred through an intermediate layer having fibres that are able to absorb humidity through capillary action, to an upper layer, having both humidity-absorbing fibres and humidity-repellent fibres, where it evaporates. U.S. Pat. No. 4,695,496 shows a multilayered protection coating for the skin that comprises four layers: a first layer in contact with the skin is made of a plurality of elongated hydrophobic fibres (for example polyester fibres) that remove humidity and sweat from the body, a membrane layer of perforated hydrophobic material (for example GORE-TEX®), a layer of porous foam that stores the drops of water that condense here, and an external covering layer in vinyl.
International patent application WO 2008/118070 discloses a wetsuit comprising an external impermeable layer (for example made of polyurethane) and an internal insulating layer. A three-dimensional polyester fabric that is flexible and can be traversed by the air in two directions is removably attached to the inside of the external layer.
The publication of European patent EP 1 967 626 discloses a sheet for absorbing sweat comprising two opposite surface layers made of a mixture of hydrophobic and hydrophilic fibres made of synthetic thermoplastic resin, and an internal layer of hydrophilic fibres interposed between the two surface layers.
International patent application WO 01/23125 discloses a laminar structure that is impermeable to liquid but permeable to wet vapour comprising an external layer, an opening through which air passes, and an insulating system that comprises a first layer, an insulating layer and a steam-control layer.
In international patent application WO 2006/076722 a composite, breathable and hydrorepellent sheet, comprises a thermoplastic film, that is not porous and permeable to wet vapour, coated on opposite sides with an absorbent layer and a repellent layer.
Multilayered fabrics are also known for example from patent documents WO 2007/107264, EP 1 266 584, U.S. Pat. No. 4,530,873, JP 8302506 and GB 2 138 745, in particular multilayered fabrics for garments or shoes, comprising a plurality of layers, in materials that are different from one another, arranged for promoting the flow of sweat and humidity from the skin to the external layers of the fabric. In this manner, the most internal layer of the fabric, i.e. the surface in direct contact with the skin, is kept dry. The fabrics disclosed in these documents comprise in particular at least one permeable layer and/or one porous layer, that respectively enable the liquid to flow through and absorb and collect the humidity and/or the sweat that are then conveyed outside, where, for example, they are expelled by evaporation.
European patent publication EP 0 639 361 shows a composite material for making elements for an orthopaedic support in which a user is in contact with a fabric of hydrophobic fibres joined to an intermediate perforated layer of foam rubber that is in turn joined to an external section consisting of a more internal hydrophilic layer and of a more external hydrophobic layer. The humidity emitted by the skin of the user passes through the fabric made of hydrophobic fibres and the holes of the intermediate layer and is then distributed by the first hydrophilic layer, increasing evaporation from the second hydrophobic layer.
It is further known to make products that are intended to come into contact with the skin of a user, by laminar structures comprising at least one layer provided with holes or made of porous material (for example foam or felt).
European patent application EP 0 792 594 discloses for example a shoe with permeability to vapour in which a felt arranged for evacuating the sweat/humidity produced by the foot is inserted into a space obtained between the external sole and the plantar zone.
United States patent publication US 2005/0142334 shows an orthopaedic apparatus having a laminar structure with a coating that encloses a material provided with large number of channels starting from open cells, by means of which channels the sweat can migrate from the skin outwards.
Japanese patent application JP 9135716 discloses a fabric comprising a layer of fabric made of non-circular fibres and impregnated with antimicrobial agents, and a layer of foam material, for example of synthetic resin. Patent documents CN 201169219, EP 1 192 886, EP 1 454 560, GB 2 248 774, JP 2006122417, WO 94/01609 and CN 201224208 disclose a fabric that is similar to that of JP 9135716 and is used to make portions of seats for cars, perambulators for children, cushions and mattresses.
From U.S. Pat. No. 5,488,746 a mattress cover is also known in which two external layers joined by a zip closure enclose an internal foam core to be able to wash separately the core and the cover. Another mattress cover provided with a zip closure is shown from Chinese patent CN 201238857.